Paper bottle cap or the like



July 2, 1940. L, w 'MOULT N 2,206,485

PAPER BOTTLE CAP OR THE LIKE Tia- E Filed June 29, 1936 Patented July 2, 1940 UNITED STATES 2,206,485 PAPER BOTTLE CAP on THE LIKE Lloyd W. Moulton, Syracuse, N.

Y.; Charles B.

Ryan, administrator of said Lloyd W. Moulton,

deceased Application June 29,

4 Claims.

This invention relates to the art of paper making, and more particularly, to paper articles in a form other than flat. The invention is especially useful in the production of closures or bot- 5 tie caps and other formed articles of a similar nature, and including various forms of containers, as well as the closures themselves. For the purposes of illustration of the invention, the following description will be principally directed to the making of paper bottle caps, but it is to be understood that there is no intention of limiting the invention to this particular field, as it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the invention is of more general application.

II In recent years, considerable effort has been directed to the production of bottle caps which not only serve to seal the mouth of the bottle, but which also serve to protect the lip of the bottle against the collection of foreign matter thereon which would normally tend to contaminate the contents of the bottle, particularly in the case of milk bottles. One of the common forms of these caps embodies a central cup-shaped portion which is adapted to be firmly seated in the mouth of the bottle with a snug fit to prevent the contents of the bottle from escaping during handling thereof. Extending laterally outwardly from the central cup-shaped portion of the cap about the margin thereof, is a rim which is more or less of arcuate "80 form in transverse cross-section, generally corresponding to the contour of the bead formed at the mouth of the bottle. This rim fits snugly over the bead, and may or may not be extended downwardly to provide a skirt, according to the vari- 85 ous modifications of the form of these .caps which are most commonly employed.

Heretofore, the caps have been made from fiat sheets or blanks of ordinary paper, the fiat sheets being formed or drawn into the desired shape by suitable means known to those skilled in the art. Obviously, the thickness of the fiat paper sheets or blanks must be limited to a relatively narrow range in order to permit the cap to be readily shaped or drawn, and under the most favorable conditions, the sheets or blanks must be relatively "thin, with the result that the central cup-shaped portion of the cap does not have suflicient rigidity to produce an effective sealing of the mouth of the bottle. To overcome this condition, it has been customary to apply to the drawn or formed paper cap a separate reinforcing 'member, this member generally having the form of a fiat 'disc ,which is seated in the base of the cup-shaped portion of the cap,

or as an alternative form, 66 the extra reinforcing member is afiixed to the 1936, Serial No. 88,052 (01. 215-38) lower face of the central cup-shaped portion of the cap. Obviously, the reinforcement of the cap materially increases the expense of the cap, both from the standpoint of the amount of the material which goes into the making of the cap, 5 as well as from the standpoint of the time and labor attending the assemblage of the separate parts.

My invention overcomes the difficulties noted above and enables the caps. to be made at a considerably less expense than formerly, while at the same time affording a cap of a much higher quality.

Moreover, I attain through my invention caps which are uniform in size and shape, and which will retain their shape permanently even though the cap may absorb a considerable amount of moisture. This is not true of any article made from paper and formed or drawn into shape.

One of the primary objects of my invention is to enable the utilization of ordinary paper pulp from which the caps or other articles are formed directly pursuant to the conversion of the pulp into paper. For lack of a more appropriate expression of the basic principle of the invention, I have broadly characterized the invention as the making of paper in other than fiat form. The final product is truly a paper product as distinguished from molded pulp, and as far as I am aware, I am the first to make paper in a form other than the usual flat form. The articles can be varied in thickness so as to give strength where strength is required, thereby making it unnecessary to fabricate the article from a plurality of pieces as formerly practiced in the case of the two-piece bottle cap hereinbefore referred to. Moreover, I am able to attain a lighter, more dense, and stronger article, made from one piece, than is possible with a plurality of pieces which require an assembling operation.

The materially reduced costs of manufacturing articles according to my invention as compared with similar articles made according to the practices heretofore known will be self-evident when it is understood that high grade pulp can be purchased-for approximately one-half the cost of paper made from this same pulp. Moreover, in making paper articles directly from pulp, there is no appreciable waste. On the other hand, in making articles from paper, there is always a waste of approximately twenty to twenty-five per cent. Although this waste may be sold back to the paper manufacturer for a small fraction of the original cost, nevertheless I am able to make 1 paper articles complete approximately at the cost of making paper.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be hereinafter described and the novel features thereof defined by the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary sectional view of an apparatus designed to make paper bottle caps in accordance with my invention, and-illustrating the male and female dies. and associated parts in theact of forming a cap;

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through a calendering head, and showing the male die with the cap thereon positioned in operative relation to the calendering head for the performance of a calendering operation;

Figure 3 is another view of the calendering head shown in Figure 2, the head being partly in section and partly in elevation, and the section being taken at right angles to the section of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a finished paper cap forming one embodiment of my invention.

Like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawing.

My new bottle caps or other articles, as the case may be, may be produced in any suitable manner as by means of special machinery hereinafter referred to. Such machines preferably include a vertically reciprocable head 8 having mounted thereon a plurality of male dies arranged in spaced relation to each other. Only one male die is shown in the drawing, the same being designated A. The head 8 is heated by any suitable heating medium suchas steam, which may be admitted into the steam chamber 2| provided in the head.

Each of the dies A comprises a body 28, the lowerend of which is provided with a downwardly facing annular rim or bead 29. The body 28 is suitably formed to receive an axially shiftable plunger 30, having a stem 3| extending axially upwardly through the body, terminating in an enlarged head 32. A coil spring 33 surrounds the stem 3| within the body 28, and normally serves to hold the plunger 38 retracted in the lower end of the body, the lower face of the plunger being flat and horizontally disposed at an elevation somewhat above the lower extremity of the annular rim or bead 29 on the lower end of the body. Preferably, the body 28 is provided with one or more perforations or passages 34 to permit the evaporation of moisture which might otherwise tend to collect in the die.

The dies A are each carried by an annular ring 35, which is coaxially mounted on the lower side of the head 8 so as to permit the ring and dies to be shifted rotatably about the axis of the head. The ring 35 on the head is so mounted as to provide suflicient vertical clearance between the ring 35 and the head 8, to allow the ring 35 to freely turn relatively to the head. When the dies A are assembled on the head 8 as just described, the heads 32 on the upper ends of the plunger stems 8i normally project above the upper face of the ring 35, and are yieldably held in their upwardly projected positions by the spring 33. An annular groove or channel 31 is formed in the lower side of the head 8, and normally receives the heads 32 so that they are free to ride in the groove as the ring 35 and dies A are rotated about the axis of the head.

Mounted upon a table or other suitable support for cooperation with the movable male dies A, are a plurality of stationary dies B, only one of which is shown in the drawing and certain of which are of the reticulated foraminous female type, as illustrated and certain others of which are of the smooth-surfaced type. These dies are respectively located at the different stations of the machine, and serve to shape or form the caps or other articles from the pulp when the pulp is introduced therein and the male dies are brought into cooperative relation with the stationary dies, as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art. The forming or shaping of the caps is done progressively so that the stationary forming dies are successively graduated smaller and higher in successively progressing from station to station in step-by-step order. There may be as many of these stationary dies as desired, but preferably I provide several of the reticulated type, starting from the first station, which will allow the moisture to be more readily extruded from the pulp before reaching the first calendering station.

smooth female foraminous dies, also successively smaller and higher, so as to substantially eliminate the markings from the shaped pulp which result from the use of the reticulated dies at the beginning of the cycle. Following the operation performed at the last smooth-surfaced die station, I preferably perform a second calendering operation which completes the shaping and smoothing of the cap or other article. Following the last calendering operation, the articles may be printed by suitable printing instrumentalities, and upon completion of the printing, the articles are stripped from the male dies upon which they are retained throughout the article manufactur- After the first calendering operation, I preferably provide three mg cycle. In other words, when a male die is brought into cooperative relation to the reticulated foraminous female die at the first station, the pulp is partially formed to the desired general form of the final article, and on elevation of the male die by the upward movement of the head 8, the partially formed pulp is carried upwardly with the male die and remains on the male die under the influence of atmospheric pressure. To further insure the retention of the pulp on the male die throughout the cycle of operations, the male dies may be under-cut slightly, if desired. Ordinarily, however, the difference in pressure of the atmosphere on the exterior of the pulp, and the partial vacuum on the side of the pulp immediately adjacent to the male die, will be adequate to cause the pulp tostick to the male die, so to speak, and remain thereon until it is stripped from the male die by the stripping instrumentalities hereinafter to be more fully described. After the preliminary shaping of the pulp at the first station, and affixing the pulp to the male die, the pulp is withdrawn from the female die, and the male die is then shifted or indexed to the next station, by suitable indexing mechanism for intermittently rotating the ring 35, whereupon the head 8 is lowered and the male die with the pulp thereon is introduced into the next female die for further shaping of the article. During this last mentioned operation, the succeeding male die is preliminarily shaping and picking up another article at the first station, and so on, as the male dies are intermittently indexed from station to station and lowered into cooperation with the stationary dies.

Beginning at the first station, and at several succeeding stations in the direction of progression of the operating cycle, the female dies B are preferably provided with a reticulated member or screen 38, which is flat and horizontally disposed on the upper side 'of the center of the body 39. The body 39 is also provided in its upper face with an annular groove or channel 48, with which the bead or protuberant rim 29 on the male die is adapted to register. 4| designates perforations or small passages in the body of the die, through which the water can escape from the die as it is extruded from the pulp by the pressure applied to the pulp responsive to the downward compression stroke of the head 8 upon which the male dies A are mounted. The bead 29 and the groove 48 ofthe respective male and female dies A and B, together form the rim and skirt of the cap, while the plunger 38 and the reticulated face 38 of the dies A and B form the fiat central part of the cup-shaped portion of the n. bviou l y v ryin the shape of the dies, articles other than the over-all plug caps may be produced, as desired, but for the purposes of illustration, I have confined the present description to the manufacture of bottle caps and the like.

Index lock and stripping mechanism To look the ring to prevent accidental shifting of the same and insure perfect registration of the respective male dies A and stationary dies B when these dies are brought together in the performance of the various operations upon the pulp,

there is provided in the head 8 at the position corresponding to the last station of the machine a bushing 58, having a cam face 59 disposed in register with the annular groove 31 in the lower side of the head 8, in which groove the heads 32 of the plunger stems 3| of the male dies A normally run. As each male die is indexed from the next-to-last station to the last station, the head 32 passes over the cam face 59 oi the bushing 58, which depresses the plunger 38 and causes the plunger to eject or strip the cap from the die. Ultimately, the head 32 becomes registered with the central opening 68 in the bushing 58, and the spring 33 tends to restore the plunger or ejector 38 to its retracted position. However, the head 32 is prevented from entering the opening 68 in the bushing 58 by virtue of the engagement of the upper end of the head 32 with the lower end of the adjustable stationary rod 6|, which is mounted in a bracket 52 which is attached to the table of the machine, the rod G'l extending downwardly through an opening 82 in the head 8, and being relatively slidable within the head as the head 8 is reciprocated upwardly and downwardly. As previously stated, the indexing of the ring 35 is performed while the head is at the top of its upward stroke, under which condition, the lower end of the rod 6| will be disposed flush with the lower extremity of the cam face 59 of the bushing 58, therebypreventing the head 32 on the upper end of the plunger or ejector stem from entering the bushing as the die comesinto its final indexed positionlat the end of the operating cycle of the machine. This is best illustrated by the dotted lines in Figure 1. However, upon downward movement of the head 8, the rod BI remaining stationary, the head 32 is permitted to enter the opening 68 in the bushing 58 under the influence of the upward pressure of the spring 33, effectively locking the ring 35 and male dies A against rotation throughout the complete stroke of the head 8. In other words, the locked condition is maintained until the head 8 is returned to the top of its stroke, whereupon the lower end of the rod 6| engages the upper end of thehead 32 and partially depresses the plunger or ejector 38 to release the head 32 from the bushing and I occurs always at the same point, and is intermittently effective preferably as the successive dies are brought to the last or ejecting station. The ejection of the caps or other articles from the male dies takes place as the dies respectively come into the last indexed position, and following the ejection, the locking is established pursuant to the commencement and continuance of the reciprocation of the head 8 and is maintained until the head 8 is returned to the top of its upward stroke. The ejector instrumentalities therefore serve the double purpose of ejecting the articles from the male dies and also to lock the carrier ring and dies against rotative movement. At one or more stations of the machine, I provide a calendering unit generally designated D..

The construction of these calendering units may be best understood from reference to Figures 2 and 3. Wheretwo calendering units are used, both units are identical with the exception that the second calendering unit is preferably slightly higher than the first to allow for the further forming and shaping of the caps or other articles by the successive action of the three intervening smooth-faced dies arranged on the table at the intermediate stations. It is to be understood,

of course, that I do not wish to be limited to the precise order of the dies as just described, in-

asmuch as the arrangement may be modified as desired and according to the requisites of the articles being made.

Each of the calendering units includes a head 95, which is mounted on the upper end of a vertical shaft 96 which is continuously driven from a suitable drive shaft or other source of power. The upper part of the calendering head 95 carries a plurality of calendering rolls which are arranged about the axis of the head and are shaped in such a manner as to cover the entire outer surface of the caps or other articles. For example, roll I83 is adapted to calender the rim or crown of the cap, while the diametrically opposite roll I84 is adapted to calender the outer marginal skirt. Intermediate rolls I83 and I84, is arranged roll I85 which is adapted to calender the inner peripheral wall of the cup-shaped portion of the cap, and diametrically opposite roll I85 is the tapered roll I86 which is adapted to calender the plug or bottom wall of the cupshaped portion of the cap, as will be obvious from Figures 2 and 3. The upper portion of the head which carries the calendering rolls is axially shiftable relatively to the lower portion of the head, and is normally urged upwardly by a plurality of coil springs I81 arranged within the head and bearing upon the lower plate I88 of the head. As previously stated, the head is continuously rotated, and as a male die member with a cap thereon is brought into contact with the calendering rolls pursuant to the downward stroke of the head 8, the upper portion of the head 95 is yieldably depressed against the action of the springs I81, causing the calendering rolls to press firmly against the cap. The axes of the rolls I88 and I86 are preferably fixed, inasmuch as the cap may be moved towards and from these rolls freelyand without interference, al-

though provision may be made for adjusting the rolls so that they will be properly aligned with the portions of the cap which are adapted to be calendered thereby. On the other hand, the

, axes of rolls I04 and I are shiftable, preferably automatically, in order to permit the cap to be lowered into the calendering position, and moved out of the calendering position without any interference by the rolls. Springs I09 and 0, respectively mounted on the roll units which embody the rolls I04 and I05, normally urge the rolls outwardly and inwardly respectively about the pivotal points III and H2. portion 95 of the calendering head is urged downwardly by the pressure of the cap against the rolls I03 and I06, the ears H3 and H4 are respectively engaged by the adjustable abutments H5 and H6, thereby rocking the rolls I04 and I05 into contact with those portions of the cap ,which are adapted to be calendered thereby.

Abutment II5 has the form of an adjustable screw, whereas abutment II6 has the form of a plunger which is vertically shiftable upwardly by the inward adjustment of the plunger or pin 1, the inner end of which is provided ,with a tapered cam face. H8 which engages a correspondingly tapered cam face II9 on the head I on the lower end of the: pin H6. A spring I2I, arranged within a recess in the upper end of the shaft 96 and encircling the pin II6, normally urges the pin II6 downwardly to maintain the cam faces H8 and H9 in contact with each other even though the adjusting screw I22 is backed out as inadjusting the pin H6 to a lower elevation. When the screw I22, plunger Ill and pin IIG for the roller unit I05, and the stop screw II5 for the roller unit I04, have been properly adjusted to produce the desired pressure on the portions of the cap engaged by the rollers, they will remain set, and no further adjustment will be necessary, excepting to take up wear, or in the event of a slight variation in the size or thickness of the caps which are being made by the machine. The entire head, including the upper part 95 and the lower plate I08, is fixed on the upper end of the shaft 96 for rotation therewith, and is journaled in a bearing I23 forming a part of the calendering unit which is mounted in the table of the machine. After the cap or other article has been calendered by the last calendering unit, it is completed in so far as the conversion of the pulp into paper is concerned, and is ready to be printed by printing mechanism forming a unitary part of the same machine, or by a separate device.

From the foregoing, the manufacture of improved paper bottle .caps and the like will be fully apparent and may be briefly summarized as follows:

A measured quantity of pulp is introduced from a suitable source of supply, to a female die of the type designated B located at the first station of the machine. The pulp is normally and preferably in a very fluid condition, containing about water, although it is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited to this precise water content, as the same may be varied according to the requirements of the articles which are to be made. Thereafter, one of the male dies A is lowered into the female die, compressing the pulp to force out the greater portion of the water and roughly form the pulp into the desired shape, according to the shape of the dies. I prefer to extrude most of the water from the pulp at this first station, leaving As the upper only approximately five to ten percent of the original water content in the pulp. The head 0 then rises vertically, carrying the male die A upwardly. As the male die is withdrawn from the female die, the roughly shaped pulp is with- 5 drawn from the female die along with it, and the pulp is adhered or aflixed to the male die upon which it remains throughout the rest of the complete operating cycle until it is finally stripped from the male die at the last station. 10

ing the evaporation of moisture, the evaporation being further aided by the steam in the steam chamber 2I which serves to heat the male dies. At the top of the stroke of the head 8 and the male dies carried thereby, the carrier ring 35 is indexed, thereby carrying the male die 8 and 1. the roughly shaped pulp thereon to the second station. The head 8 and male die are again lowered into cooperation with the next female die to squeeze out more water from the pulp. On the next upstroke of the head 8, the male I die and roughly shaped pulp are again withdrawn from the female die and carried upwardly, and when the top of the stroke is reached,

the carrier ring 35 is again indexed to bring the slightly smaller in outside diameter and slightly larger in inside diameter, and slightly higher so as to progressively shape the pulp on the male die A and extrude the remainder of the water to the desired degree as the male die and pulp are successively introduced into the female die.

The female dies B are also preferably heated, as by the admission of steam into a steam chamber in the table upon which the dies B are mounted, thereby aiding the evaporation of moisture which tends to collect in the dies. insure the presentation of hot, dry dies to the pulp at the different stations about the table, it may be desirable to subject the dies B to suction or vacuum during the intervals when the pulp is removed therefrom.

To further 0 66 When the shaping of the pulp and extrusion of the moisture therefrom has been successiv'ely repeated a suflicient number of times so that practically all of the water has been removed from the pulp, the article is then presented to a 60 deringunit D, the rolls I03, I04, I05 and I06 of 5 which calender the entire outer surface of the article responsive to the continuous rotation of the calendering head 95, thereby producing a smooth finished paper article or cap. The cap or other article will thereupon have a 'paper 7 finish of a very high quality upon completion of the calendering operation at this station, and will then be ready to be printed.

When the completed paper article or cap, as

shown in Figure 4, has been stripped from the male die at the last station, it is preferably treated so as to become water-proof. This treatment may be accomplished in any desired manner, as by spraying the articles with a suitable waterproofing coating such as parafiin or the like, or otherwise applying the coating to the articles.

Instrumentalities for this purpose are well known and may be readily adapted for automatic operation as a part of the apparatus disclosed herein, as will be obvious to those skilled in the art,

and for this reason, such instrumentalities are not specifically shown or described. On the other hand, the water-proofing of the articles may be effected by the incorporation of a suitable water-proofing substance or compound directly into the pulp before the pulp is shaped and converted into paper.

The term pulp or paper pulp as used in 1 the foregoing description and in the claims is intended to mean a thoroughly beaten pulp which includes all those ingredients which enter into the making of what comes within the accepted coloring matter.

definition of paper as it is known in the paper making art. Ordinarily the ingredients include a sizing material and may or may not include In the practice of my invention, the pulp fibers are matted and oriented in a definite formation, preferably in the approximate form of the article, and this results in the provision of a smooth, dense, rigid, stable, homogeneous, light weight paper product.

While the specific details of construction have been herein shown and described, the invention is not confined thereto, as changes and alterations may be made without departing from the spirit thereof as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A paper bottle cap of the class described, composed of paper pulp of calendered non-planar form.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a paper bottle cap generally cup-shaped in form at its central portion and having an annular bead embracing rim formed about its marginal extremity, said cap being composed of paper pulp from which substantially all moisture has been extracted, and the fibers of which are oriented and closely compacted, afiording a dense, substantially rigid, integral paper structure.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a paper bottle cap generally cup-shaped in form at its central portion and having an annular bead embracing rim formed about its marginal extremity, said cap being composed of paper pulp from which substantially all moisture has been extracted, and thefibers of which are oriented in circular form about a common axis and closely compacted, and the surfaces of the cap being calendered, affording a dense, smooth, substantially rigid, integral paper structure. 7

4. An article of manufacture made of paper in non-planar form directly from paper pulp and characterized by having its fibers matted, oriented and permanently fixed in the approximate form of the article, and the surfaces of the paper being calendered to provide a smooth, uniform finish.

LLOYD W. MOULTON. 

